Pro-life Super Bowl ad sparks controversy

Twenty-two years ago a woman named Pam Tebow got pregnant and doctors advised her to abort the baby after she got sick during a mission trip in the Philippines.

Pam didn’t follow the advice and gave birth to Tim Tebow, who is now the star University of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner headed for April’s NFL draft.

Associated Press

Gators quarterback Tim Tebow embraces his mom, Pam. The two are slated to appear in a pro-life Super Bowl ad.

Tim is also a devout Christian, and he believes that he’s lucky to be alive because his “courageous” mom made the decision to not have an abortion.

During the Super Bowl broadcast by CBS on February 7, a pro-life ad is set to air featuring Tim and his mom Pam who will reportedly detail her decision to have her son as “uplifting.” Focus on the Family, an anti-abortion group, is sponsoring the ad, which is slated to air during the pre-game show and during the game. The cost for ads running during this year’s game is estimated to be between $2.5 and $3 million.

“I mean, some people won’t agree with it, you know, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe,” Tebow told USA Today. “I’m just standing for something and, you know, I’ve always been very convicted of it one. That’s the reason why I’m here because my mom is a very courageous woman.”

Pro-choice groups are outraged by the ad and they’re asking CBS to yank the 30-second spot.

“The reality is that 1 in 3 women in this country have an abortion,” Erin Matson, vice president of action for the National Organization for Women, told Fox News. “It’s misleading to paint the picture that every woman who chooses to have an abortion is depriving the country of a famous football player.”

“Abortion is very controversial, and the anti-abortion vitriol has resulted in escalated violence against reproductive health providers and their patients,” Greene said. “We’ve seen that clearly with the murder of Dr. George Tiller,” the late-term abortion provider who was gunned down in his Kansas church in May 2009.”

Since nobody has seen the ad yet, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly says that he’s surprised by the backlash. “You know,” Daly told Fox News, “our message is all about family, and I’m excited that CBS agreed to do it.”

CBS has pulled advocacy ads in the past but at this point it says it will air the Tebow spot. In a statement, the network said, “We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or the industry norms on the issue. In fact most media outlets have accepted advocacy ads for some time.”